Pyrite
by Reader532
Summary: He wanted to be the very best, that no one ever was. But he wasn't. Ash wasn't the same person since his failure and loss two years ago. Time had changed almost everything: his optimism, his friendliness, his appearance... but it hadn't changed one thing. Ash still wanted to be the very best, and this time it wasn't just for himself.
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

There was a crowd of forty thousand spectators, but it was impossible to tell by the sound-or rather, the lack of it. It was the regional final, and the long slug-fest appeared to be in its final stages.

As the smoke gradually cleared the silhouette of a trembling Pikachu and a collapsed Aerodactyl appeared. Just moments ago, the fossil pokemon had released an earth-shattering Hyper Beam in a last-ditch effort to knock out its opponent. The Pikachu and his trainer had sensed this and desperately attempted to dodge and counter attack with a vicious Thunderbolt before the flying pokemon could recover.

It was a daring, but successful plan: it had knocked out the opposing pokemon. But this came at a price; Pikachu, in his rush to attack, had dodged the primary beam, but couldn't avoid the shrapnel from the powerful attack. Perhaps if the Aerodactyl hadn't been so strong, this wouldn't have been an issue, but as it were, Pikachu had taken the equivalent of multiple Rock Throws. It had also been fighting against the champion's Altaria and had managed to eke out a victory. There was only so much the mouse pokemon could do; hence, it collapsed of exhaustion mere seconds after the smoke cleared.

The champion and the challenger were at their last pokemon, and the bouts that had nearly destroyed the ring were almost at an end.

"You've done well to come so far Ash, but there's no longer any need for words: this battle ends here, and I will face you down with my strongest."

Perhaps if one knew nothing about pokemon, one would think the ever-playful friendly, chubby Dragonite would be a better caretaker than a fighter, but they would be very wrong. Once observed closely, all doubts of the dragons' fighting prowess would be erased. Standing at an average 7 feet, and an astounding 450 pounds, the dragon was a bonafide giant. Dragonites were universally respected, feared, and sometimes even worshipped.

However, while most Dragonite were classed as a pseudo-legendary pokemon, only one of them came close to breaking into the legendary barrier: Lance's Dragonite. Reaching almost 9 feet and 600 pounds, it was a monster of monsters. Many a challenger had slowly worked their way through Lance's party, only to be stopped in place by the imposing dragon. It was said that to beat Lance's Dragonite was equivalent to beating his party one more time.

Faced with a force of nature, Ash only had three pokemon who could hope to compete with it. Sceptile, Pikachu, and Charizard. Sceptile had finished off Lance's Gyarados and knocked out its Salamence before the exhausted pokemon was given the runaround by Altaria. Pikachu had just been knocked out. His Greninja may have stood a fair chance, but Lance had masterfully exploited the pair's lack of stamina through stalling the battle with his Mega-Salamence's speed.

"Charizard, I choose you!"

While the average Charizard was sized at 5 feet 6 inches, with a weight of roughly 200 pounds, Ash's Charizard was different. It stood at a mighty 7 feet and weighed 300 pounds. While the time it had spent in Charicific valley had certainly helped it physically, the pokemon's size wasn't it's only stand-out. Upon being released it released its signature Flamethrower, which could have been easily mistaken for an Overheat attack by a lesser pokemon.

The Charizard was faced by a daunting opponent, but he revealed no fear. Fear simply wasn't in his nature.

In the commentator's box, a pair of paramedics stood at moment's attention with a stretcher and oxygen tank: the poor commentator's face was turning blue from his excitement.

"And ladies and gentlemen, this will be the final bout of today's slug-fest, and we've been introduced to two absolute monsters of pokemon! All standing here know of the absolute dominance of Lance's Legendary Dragonite, but I have been reliably informed that Ash's Charizard has beaten a legendary pokemon before! My question, at this point, isn't who's going to win, but rather, will we still have a stadium once this battle ends?"

Ash inwardly chuckled, while Charizard had beaten Articuno, he had also almost fought a psychically-enhanced Entei to a standstill while protecting Ash.

The two trainers and their pokemon stared each other down, and eventually, the stadium's uproar quietened down. Ash was sure that his friends were cheering for him, but he couldn't afford to get distracted at this time. In a battle with such powerhouses, one lapse in concentration could lead to a devastating blow being landed.

Ash was also mentally sifting through his strategies and tactics; unfortunately, Ash didn't have a mega-stone for Charizard, so the match-up was far more even than it could have been. From watching clips of Lance's Dragonite, Ash knew that it was fast, especially for its size, and was _incredibly strong_. Ash trusted his Charizard, but he also knew his Charizard's limits: Ash was not comfortable with his prospects in a head-to-head battle. While Charizard may be able to take Dragonite down through raw strength, it was equally, if not more likely, the opposite case was also true. However, Charizard's size also meant that it would be able to maneuver better in the air.

The referee had already announced the start of the battle, but both sides remained still. And then there was movement. Many of the spectators blinked, and saw two craters were the dragons were previously standing and the buffeting clothes of their trainers.

The two rushed towards each other, with the Dragonite utilizing a Dragon Rush and Charizard keeping up with natural movement alone. As both pokemon were flying close to the ground, Charizard pushed with his feet and rocketed upwards. No human would be able to give an order countering a quick move, but Dragonite was a seasoned battler. In response, its claws glowed as it executed a Dragon Claw. Charizard countered with a Steel Wing, and both pokemon were blasted back. However, while Charizard was buffeted back in the air, Dragonite was pushed into the ground, and the resulting force split the skin on its feet and delivered tremendous pressure onto its knees. Charizard appeared to be nursing a stinging wing.

Mentally, Ash wasn't too disturbed by the results. His power of aura had expanded significantly, and he was able to give orders to his pokemon mentally and read their mental state. This, of course, gave him a tremendous advantage in terms of response speed and allowed his pokemon to compete with other more battle-hardened ones.

Charizard was only noting a stinging wing, which would recover over the course of a few seconds. The results confirmed Ash's thoughts: if he wanted to win, he'd have to continue exchanges like these.

"Dragonite, rise up! Twister!"

Lance had already recognized the state of his pokemon and acknowledged that Charizard had the advantage in the air. However, the move Twister also dealt more damage to pokemon flying in the air.

"_Charizard, fire spin!" _Ash conveyed mentally.

A tremendous tornado surrounded Charizard, while an equivalent fire tornado surrounded Dragonite.

'Charizard'll take more damage, but fire spin's completely blocked off Lance's vision of Dragonite.'

"_Charizard break out, rise to the top of the fire spin, and use flamethrower from the vantage point."_

Charizard broke through the twister at the cost of taking extra damage, but both Ash and Charizard were surprised that Lance had ordered his Dragonite to do the same.

"Dragon Claw!"

"_Charizard, quick, flamethrower: top of Dragonite's back!" _

Dragonite and Lance quickly realized the attack wasn't going to hit and let it pass them. What they didn't realize, however, was that the erratic air flows due to the previous attacks combined with the high-pressure zone the flames had created above Dragonite's wings would cause Dragonite's trajectory to drop, and he flew safely below Charizard.

The measuring phase over, both pokemon and trainers were at a standstill. Now, the battle in earnest would start.

"Dragonite, Thunderbolt into Dragon Claw!"

"_Charizard fly to dodge, and then launch a flamethrower." _

Charizard dodged the Thunderbolt, and let loose a flamethrower on the fast-approaching Dragonite. Dragonite, however, used its Dragon Claw to block the majority of the attack.

"_Shit, Charizard parry with Steel Wing then use a Dragon Rage!" _

Just as the Dragonite approached melee range, Lance yelled out another command.

"Hyper Beam!"

Ash's eyes widened, as he rushed to think of a counter-strategy. But he was too slow.

A Hyper Beam was one of the strongest moves available to any pokemon, and one launched point-blank had caused one death before in a league match.

Charizard, however, was no stranger to near-death situations. Before the attack had landed, he altered his Steel Wing attack to defensively shield himself. However, this couldn't stop all the damage. Charizard was pushed back and sent into a spiraling free fall.

Thankfully, he stopped his descent halfway, and Ash mentally cheered.

"_Charizard, Overheat while we still can!" _

Normally, the Dragonite could've easily dodged the flamethrower, but as it was recovering from the hyper beam, it could only move its arms and wings in front of itself for protection. A torrent of flames larger than the Dragonite itself surrounded the dragon and launched it several feet backward.

'Damn, the attack was impressive, but that was Charizard's Blaze kicking in. He's hurt, badly. We have to end this, now.'

The Overheat, before Blaze's augmentation, was already a fearsome fire move only second to Blast Burn and would've easily burned a lower Pokemon alive. Dragonite's dragon nature reduced the effect of the attack marginally, but the pokemon was sent into a free fall.

"_Charizard, Seismic Toss now!" _

Despite the pain in his wings, Charizard forced himself to catch the falling Dragonite.

"Dragon Claw him until he falls!"

It was apparent from Lance's desperate call that Dragonite was heavily damaged, but the dragon still elongated his claws and slashed repetitively at Charizard.

Charizard was definitely feeling the pain, but the close range of the attack meant that Dragonite couldn't muster anything near full force.

The two interlocked pokemon hurtled towards the ground, and the completion of the Seismic Toss covered the stadium with dust, and all the world could do was wait and watch for the results.

Both pokemon were left standing, but both were evidently at their respective limits. One of Charizard's was stumbling left and right and one of his wings was limp, while Dragonite's whole burn-covered body was shaking intensely.

The battle had been short, but with two powerhouses with attacks that could kill, it was expected. As they observed their pokemon, both trainers realized that they had one last attack left. Both trainers ignored the impassioned commentary of the commentator, as the crowd's cheering reached ear-splitting levels.

"Dragonite Hyper Beam!"

"Charizard, Blast Burn!" But this wasn't Ash's intention.

"_Dodge it Charizard!"_

This was an all-or-nothing moment. Ash knew that Charizard had far less in his tank left than Dragonite did, and this was his last option to win.

Realizing this, Charizard put all his force into his weary body and attempted to launch himself out the way.

He was only partially successful. The blast clipped his injured wing, spinning his body towards the Dragonite. Charizard felt his bones shatter, and wing tear: the injuries would take weeks to heal even with the augmented healing of the PokeCenter.

Luck, unconscious thinking, or sheer will: whatever one would call it, Charizard was now aiming directly at the Dragonite.

"Blast Burn!"

One member of the audience nearest to Dragonite screamed as ricocheting embers from Charizard's searing cross of flames ignited his alcoholic drink. It appeared that the pokemon had managed to, through sheer willpower, surpass Pokemon's limits and release an attack unhindered by his previous Overheat.

The Dragonite smashed into the stadium wall and was buried into the structure.

Ever-present fire-fighters released their ice and water pokemon in an effort to cool the temperature of the cement and the melting metal protection for the audience while paramedics rushed to the audience members closest to the heat and dragged them away to treat their minor burns. Pokemon nurses and doctors scrambled onto the field to treat both injured pokemon, but the commentator, amidst all the chaos, had never stopped screaming.

"And ladies and gentlemen we have the new champion of the known Pokemon World! Hail Champion Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town of Kanto!"

But there was something wrong: the audience wasn't cheering, instead, Ash heard repetitive beeping becoming progressively becoming louder. As he opened his eyes, he realized he was staring at a white ceiling. It had happened again.

"Son of a bitch."

**AN:** Hello everyone, this is my first story on . Suggestions and reviews are welcome!

I'll be typing a longer **AN** next chapter (which I'm currently working on), which would include what direction the story should take, and what pairings will be present (I'm not too sure yet).


	2. Chapter 2: Rising Up

**AN:** Hi everyone, thanks for reading _Pyrite_, this is just a short disclaimer that I don't own Pokemon. A longer AN is at the end.

As the alarm continued ringing, Ash had realized what had happened. It was the same dream coming to haunt him again.

The weak sunlight from the early hours of the morning seeped into his room, and he saw he was still in his apartment. Nothing had changed.

Wiping off tears he didn't realize he had shed, Ash turned off the alarm. He rose off his bed and saw the sprawling metropolis of Saffron through his window.

Ever since his mother had passed away 2 years ago, he was unable to remain in Pallet Town any longer; every part of it seemed like a cruel reminder of his mother's departure.

Ash had been taking part in a regional tournament in Johto at the time. He had reached the finals and was set to win it, but during the halfway break, an attendant informed him that his mother was discovered dead, as Carbon Monoxide accumulated in her room. When Professor Oak had checked on her house 15 minutes later due to a gas leak in his house, he found the tableau of Mr. Mime attempting to drag her out the house, stopped merely two feet from the door. Both had no pulse and were shortly pronounced dead when the paramedics from Viridian City reached them.

The most crushing part of it was that Ash could have easily prevented it; he could've easily opened the window. Mr. Mime, while intelligent, was merely a pokemon, and had no understanding of what was happening to him or Delia.

After this, he was never quite the same. Every time he entered a pokemon battle, he was overwhelmed by his failure. Eventually, he just stopped battling.

After he showered and got dressed, he realized that there was no food for himself; he had run out of bread, ramen, bacon, and eggs. Actually, he'd been running low for a while, but never bothered replenishing his stock. Opening the lower containers of his fridge, he only found some old vegetables that Brock had got him when he last visited.

Sighing, Ash reached into his coffee beans to prepare a fresh ground. Coffee, being able to stave off his bitter dreams, had become a staple of his "diet," and he was very particular about how it was prepared. Unfortunately, however, he didn't have enough for one brew. Sighing, he reached in his cupboard for some loose tea packets and found three left of the Chamomile tea packet that Serena had gifted him a year ago. He checked the expiry date, and found it only said: "best before one year."

Shrugging, he started the kettle and brewed his tea. He couldn't remember whether this tea was made with milk or not, but seeing that he had a little left, he just dumped it in. His first sip almost made him spit it back out.

"No amount of caffeine's worth that taste," he decided.

But the only response to his remark was silence: his words were absorbed by his studio apartment.

He almost jumped with a curse when he saw his alarm clock: it was 7 am, and he had two unfinished physics problems. Class at the university started at 9 and he lived a few blocks away, but he knew how variable problem-solving could be.

When he started on his first problem, a ringing noise kept repeating. It took a few seconds for Ash to realize someone was calling him. It was Gary. Samuel and Gary Oak took care of Ash's pokemon in exchange for Ash's permission to research them, and they did call three months ago to notify Ash about his Pokemon's general well-being. But Gary never called so early in the morning.

"Hi Gary, how come you're calling so early today?"

As soon as he heard Gary's tone, Ash knew something had gone wrong. "Not very well Ash: Gramps is dead."

"_What_?"

"They found him poisoned with carbon monoxide on the floor. The windows were open, but the police are putting it down to a failure in his equipment that was emulating a Torkoal's flame generation. The glass was had microfractures we didn't realize and broke apart, exposing him to heat and various gases."

It was clear to Ash, that Gary hadn't fully registered the loss yet, and he should be comforting Gary, but the situation struck him as off.

"I wasn't aware that a Torkoal could generate that much carbon monoxide, they have a really fast respiration rate. Also, why would Oak have been exposed to the carbon monoxide on the floor? It's a fairly light gas, and was probably hot; it should've been rising."

Gary sighed audibly. "I don't know Ash; I've been thinking about that too. It just doesn't make any sense. The pathologist just told me that Gramps was exposed to lots of pressure- presumably knocked out by it- and then to carbon monoxide."

Ash didn't know how to respond. He hadn't talked properly with another human for non-academic purposes for… three or four months now. He could feel his grief building up, and Gary attempting to repress his own, but there was not a damn thing he could say.

"Ash… I was going through Gramps' files on his computer to try and see what happened, and I found a letter for you. I already read it, I'm sorry, but I'll be sending it to you now via email. Read it, I think it's important for you."

This was somewhat surprising, Ash knew that Professor Oak wasn't the type to write letters: he would prefer talking to people.

"I just want to tell you Ash- and don't take this personally- but please don't come back to Pallet Town yet. I know you're still suffering over Delia's death, and well… to be honest, having you back here would remind me of the old days. And I don't think either of us can deal with that now."

"Wait, Gary," Ash knew he had isolated himself for years, but his oldest childhood friend was grieving right now. He knew how he felt after his Mom's death; Gary was there for him then, and Ash would have to be there for him now. "It'll be alright, I promise. I'll call Liza to beam Charizard over and I'll be there in an hour. Look you were there for me earlier, and I can't let you take this al -"

"I won't be alone Ash; I have the rest of my family here with me. A lot of others are also going to be dropping in. Ash, read Gramps' letter: there's something else he wanted you to do." Gary's weariness was showing, but Ash couldn't just let it go like this.

"Gary, I can't just not attend his funeral. You know how much he means to me."

Gary sighed, and his voice was devoid of the usual arrogance it possessed. Instead, it seemed to be filled with something reminiscent of Professor Oak.

"You know Ash, Gramps always used to say that funerals were for the living: the dead couldn't care any. Read the letter Ash, there's something he would've wanted you to do far more than just attend his funeral. He treated you like he used to treat me, and he kept telling me how he still had great expectations for you, despite your current strut."

Gary paused, and his next words were raw and heavy.

"If you'll remember, the days leading up to when we got our first pokemon, he kept telling us his dream was to make a complete guide on all Pokemon in the world. Ash, I can study them all… but I can't get the jurisdiction to set up my research in all the different regions. Please Ash, for his dream… become a Pokemon Master."

Ash was temporarily struck into silence.

"Gary, I -"

"Goodbye Ash, call Tracey if you need your Pokemon beamed over."

Ash slowly put the phone down on his table, and then moments later slammed his desk, scattering the already disorganized desk further.

He knew how much guilt Gary would be feeling then: he would be cursing himself for his sleeping habits, not checking over the machines thoroughly enough… and it wouldn't stop. Ash would know; he had- was- living through it.

Ash almost called Gary again, but his request to read Oak's letter stuck in his head. Setting his phone down, Ash booted up his laptop and checked the email from Gary. There was a scanned pdf labeled "For Ash." Opening it revealed a handwritten note far different from the scientific scrawl that Oak used for his lab reports. It resembled the calligraphy that Ash sometimes saw on official league documents.

The letter read.

_For __Ashton Satoshi Ketchum_ _at Flat 501, Building B, Champion Apartments, Saffron City. _

_Dear Ash, _

_If you're reading this, it means that for whatever reason, I am unable to tell you this message in person. I may be simply too cowardly to tell you in person, and I'm sorry about that._

_Ash, I understand Delia's death has hit you hard. I remember feeling the same when my mother passed away, suffering through a heart attack in her sleep. Take it from an old man past the prime of his life: time and life pass through without regard for us. Delia's death was a tragedy Ash, but sometimes, we're dealt unlucky hands, and we have to make do with what we've got. _

_I'm sure you recall that you were in a tournament on that day, and I'm sure you're blaming yourself for not being there. Let me tell you, what Delia told me the night you won the semi-final, the last time she spoke to me. _

_She told me she was proud of you. She had already told me about her loneliness, but this was always overshadowed by how radiant she was with you chasing your dreams. See, maybe you'll understand this one day you have children, but as parents are wont to do: your dreams became her dreams. I can tell you, she was probably more nervous than you were during the semi-final, and more excited than you were after you won it. Ash, all of your accomplishments, were her accomplishments, and when she realized how close you were to becoming a Pokemon Champion, all of us in Pallet Town were dancing with joy. _

_I can't tell you were wrong for leaving the finals, but I can tell you that it's not what Delia would've wanted. She was at her peak when you were at yours Ash, and this current state of yours does her no justice. Tell me, Ash, would she want you to be living like this? _

_No, she wanted you to be the Pokemon Master. And for that matter, so do I. _

_You know of my dream- publishing a guide on all existing Pokemon. Recently, however, the regional authorities of Sinnoh, Kalos, Unova and some far-off region called Alola, have refused to grant me the opportunity to expand my research to their regions. A Pokemon Master should be able to overrule them, especially for a cause like this one. _

_But that isn't the only reason I want you to be the Pokemon Master. _

_I still remember those days when you and Gary were growing up together. Bickering, playing, competing... I looked at both of you as my grandchildren. You may think that you have no family left, but I promise that when you need us, Gary and I will be there for you. We have no blood relation, but I don't think we need that. Ash, I want you to succeed, because you have are family to me. Your success is also my success, and your dreams are part of mine. Come to Pallet town or start your journey to be a Pokemon Master; I'll be with you every step of the way. _

_I hope to see you soon, in-person. _

_Sincerely,_

_Samuel Oak_

Ash didn't attend his class that day. He was just curled on his bed, waiting for the tears to stop. When they did, he started feeling hungry. He started feeling desperation.

Being a Pokemon Master; it wasn't just for himself anymore. No, he was done with just appearing like he wanted to be the very best and accepting everything less every time; he would become the very best. That no one ever was.

And so Ash asked himself, "What am I doing here?"

**AN: **Hi guys, just before I went a bit into the story, I want to disclose that my first review has been slightly inflammatory. I've decided (at this point in time), however, that I'm not removing the review. I'm not a perfect writer (and probably not even a good writer), so I'd appreciate more constructive reviews. I'd like to reiterate; it's your right to believe that I'm a bad writer (and I probably agree with you), but please list the reasons so that I may improve.

On to the story: I hope that this chapter leads off the cliff I left you guys on yesterday and explains the background a bit more. To be honest, I'm still wondering if the Hurt/Comfort tag should be replaced with Tragedy.

This is, I'm afraid, going to be a dark story, with an Ash and Pokemon world that are different, but also the same in a few ways (hopefully you'll see what I mean later). Furthermore, _Pyrite_ isn't quite an "Ash-gets-betrayed" story (though I do enjoy them quite a bit), but it should have some passing similarities. In this story, Ash's ultimate goal is to become a Pokemon Master, and changing the parts of him that wouldn't fully try for it or weren't suited for it. The story isn't going to be just pokemon battles in the league though; there are some other parts of it that tie into his journey to become the Pokemon Master.

I've got the story partially mapped out, and it looks like (at this point in time) there are going to be around 26 chapters in _Pyrite_, and a follow up of maybe two or three sequels.

I've also decided that this is going to be a Rayshipping (Ash and Cynthia) story. I was tossing around Dawn and Serena as possible prospects, but I ultimately decided that Cynthia worked better for the plot of this story, and especially in terms of interactions with Ash. I can't quite say I have any experience in writing romance, so I've made the progress of this one slower than some other fanfics on this site.

On another note, I've also been tossing around an idea for another fanfic (a more betrayal-oriented one, that has a Dawn or Serena pairing). Depending on how much I can flesh out, I might be publishing that one too.

As for the update schedule, I'm not too sure about it yet. It takes me a "few" hours to finish a chapter, but the plot outline is saving me some time.

Thanks for reading so far, and for following and favoriting _Pyrite_ or me. I hope that I can hear what you guys think of the story or writing so far!

Have a great day folks, and until next time.


	3. Chapter 3: The More Things Change

**AN: **Hi guys, here's chapter 3 of _Pyrite_. I've actually got exams coming up soon, so this may be the last chapter until the 18th onward. To compensate, this is _far_ longer than my previous chapters. I hope you guys enjoy!

Two-hundred and twenty-thousand Pokedollars. Despite paying for college tuition, buying an apartment, and living in the most expensive city in the Kanto region, Ash was still better off than most residents of Saffron city. To put it simply, being a strong trainer who adventured paid off tremendously well, especially with all the items that Ash had accrued over the years. He still had a lot of stardust and other rare items left, and a buyer who gave him a large cut for bulk purchases.

Earning potential was part of the reason why many parents would send out their children at the ripe age of ten, despite the emotional and physical toll it took on them. Ash had succeeded on this front, and hence money was no issue for him.

But where would he go? He knew that he hadn't yet recovered from, and it would be foolish to drop straight into a Pokemon battle, and he knew that he had to prepare for his journey.

It was true that Ash hadn't done this for a long time, but adventuring was a part of Ash: it wasn't just something he could forget.

His closet revealed the outfit he last wore in Kalos but he found that it didn't fit him anymore. While Ash hadn't grown very tall- the lack of proper nutrition and exercise in his prime growing years had taken its toll- he was still measurably larger than two years ago.

In his adventuring backpack, he found his sleeping bag and tent, along with various toiletries. Ash actually remembered when he packed it, after his mother's death. He was planning to leave the day after her funeral, and retreat into another region. But he just couldn't. While he wasn't able to remain in Pallet Town, he couldn't bring himself to leave Kanto. At the airport, the moment before the flight boarded for Alola, Ash chose not to board and left. For two years, the bag was packed and ready to go.

Ash only had a minimal amount of clothing: he had two pairs of jeans, one pair of shorts, one pair each of sport shorts and pants, three t-shirts, a jacket, trainers, and hiking boots. All of it easily fit into his bag.

After packing his laptop, telling his College he was taking a leave of absence, and turning off the main light and gas switch, Ash was ready to go in less than thirty minutes. But he paused outside the door. He could feel the bright midday sun, but something was wrong. Expired Trainer ID in hand, Ash was ready to leave. Why was he stopping?

"Oh! My underwear." Ash slapped his forehead as he realized his simple mistake: the one he had made numerous times before. This time, however, his mother wasn't there to remind him.

Ash sighed at the bittersweet memory while rummaging in his pockets for his key. Ash cursed as he realized that today _really wasn't his day_. He had left his keys in the apartment.

Cursing on the elevator to the guard's office and back, Ash was finally ready to leave fifteen minutes later. Before he left, however, he did a sweep of the house to make sure he wasn't leaving anything. He paused as he realized he had left his cap hanging in his wardrobe. He gently took it into his hand and considered putting it on. Shaking his head vigorously, Ash merely pushed it into his backpack.

Expectations of a grand start thoroughly dashed, Ash started heading for the PokeCenter. After a brief fifteen minute walk, it came into view. Lance and the Kanto government had started a program last year to urgently renovate all PokeCenters to include more space for patients and their trainers and incorporate the latest healing-stimulation chambers and surgical machines. Ash remembered how a year ago Kanto's treatment fatality rate had reached a five percent: the highest of all regions by far.

From first glance, it was evident that the center had been renovated: now composed of three floors instead of just two. While the sliding doors weren't new, the smell definitely was. Pokemon centers tended to have an undertone of disinfectant. This one, however, didn't.

"Welcome to our Pokemon Center. We can heal your Pokemon back to perfect health, shall we heal your Pokemon?"

Ash had to admit, the phrase was nostalgic. It was long-winded, and it sometimes preceded the painful treatment of his Pokemon, but it was nostalgic nonetheless. The phrase, however, was tinted by a little bit of surprise.

"No thank you, ma'am. I'd like to reactivate my trainer ID since there's no currently no professor present."

The regulations of the Pokemon League stipulated that if a Professor was not available to renew a trainer's license, then a Pokemon Nurse was qualified to do so on his or her authority. Nurses, however, weren't able to grant a new trainer a license: for that they'd have to fill out paperwork and send it back to the Pokemon league for approval.

"You're Ash Ketchum?" The Nurse was looking from the expired ID to Ash repeatedly. It was said that after his Mother's death, the young trainer had gone into seclusion, with multiple rumors stating that he had died.

Ash nodded his assent. With that, the surprise was gone, and the Nurse started evaluating Ash for the renewal of his trainer's license. This was a key step to prevent Pokemon abuse, and normally took a few days, a reference, and background checks. Ash, however, would probably be an exception, since he was so well-known for his multiple adventures and eccentric habit of leaving his old party aside.

"It's been a year since your trainer ID expired, could you tell me about why you didn't renew it before it did?"

Ash stared at her, giving her the classic _Are You Serious?_. The Nurse, however, was unfazed.

"I asked you a question, Mr. Ketchum, and if you don't respond you'll have to get your license renewed elsewhere. I don't care how well-mannered you were two years ago; I need to know if the Ash in front of me is qualified to train Pokemon."

_Damn_, there was that medical professional demeanor appearing. Ash had hoped he'd be able to avoid this question.

"Ma'am I let the trainer license expire because I didn't believe I was in the right frame of mind to be training Pokemon properly." This was complete bullshit. He didn't renew his license because he couldn't stand the thought of battling and adventuring again: a sentiment he still partially held.

The Nurse raised one of her eyebrows inquisitively, "and now you believe you are?"

_Stand straight, puff your chest out a bit, look right into their eyes… and smile._ "I do."

With the aftermath of his concerned friends continuously inquiring about his mental state, Ash had learned how to lie. The trick, he found, was to present something believable and portray confidence. After all, confident people don't lie, right?

After a few more seconds of observing Ash and ruminating, the Nurse decided to renew his license. When Ash reached out to take it, however, he felt some resistance as the Nurse looked into his eyes.

"I don't think you're being honest with yourself, but I'm giving you this license in the hope that it will help you change so that you can be. I wouldn't do this, but you could say that this is a thank you from a Nurse to a trainer that cared deeply about Pokemon."

Ash regressed to the blank persona that he had developed over the last two years and listlessly shrugged while accepting the card.

"Do the new Pokemon Center's have a Bill's PC?"

The Nurse nodded. "Take the first right and then you should see first three rooms in the hallway marked 'PC Room'"

"I guess the queues got too long with just one. Have a nice day."

Ash was right, there was a fairly sizable queue of three people waiting per room, so Ash decided to get the messaging done first.

"_Hi Lisa, this is Ash. I'm at the Saffron City Pokemon Center, could you send Charizard over through Bill's PC?"_

While he was waiting for Lisa to respond, Ash thought about which other Pokemon he should take. Pikachu was a definite choice, no questions asked. Despite having the force to take down legendaries, the mouse could still curtail his attacks enough to barely bruise a starter pokemon. That and Ash just missed his traveling companion.

At this point, Ash had no idea how well he could battle or train at the moment and decided to take his strongest and hardiest pokemon for now, as they would be able to deal with his errors the best.

To that end, Sceptile- who had previously defeated Tobias' Darkrai- was an obvious choice. Greninja… even if Ash knew where he was right now, he didn't want to risk battling with the bond. Infernape was a mainstay, with his Blaze ability, he was extremely powerful.

WIth four pokemon decided, Ash only had two slots left on his belt. Looking at his team composition, he decided that he needed a tank and a speedster. To fill the speedster role, Noivern was the fastest Pokemon Ash had available, but Ash had two quality tanks available. Ash had access to both Snorlax and Krokodile, who were both top-tier tanks. Ultimately, Ash decided that taking Krokodile would be a better choice since he sweatdropped at the prospect of carrying enough food for Snorlax.

"_Hi Tracy, this is Ash. Please send over Pikachu, Sceptile, Infernape, Noivern, and Krokorok._" He paused before sending the message: even he knew it would be too socially inept to not comment on Oak's death, but what could he say?

Ten minutes later, Ash had exited Saffron city and was walking in route 7. He didn't think that it was a good idea to release his Pokemon in the city, especially after he hadn't seen them after for so long. Ash mentally hoped that no trainer would catch and force him to battle. With the team he had now, the Pokemon Center would have to work overtime on the poor trainer's pokemon.

After finding a quiet and relatively isolated spot, Ash released his Pokemon one by one. First was Pikachu.

Pikachu guessed that Gary and Tracey were simply transporting them to another area temporarily after Oak's death, so he was surprised when he was released into the open. A larger surprise, however, was seeing his trainer in front of him.

"Hi Pikachu"

"Pika pika."

Ash couldn't speak Pokemon, but he could understand them, and none better than his partner of 6 years. Two years was a long time, but it wasn't even half the time they had spent together. Pikachu took his customary spot on Ash's shoulder, and it was as if they had never separated.

Next was Sceptile. He had always been the cool and collected type so Ash wasn't particularly worried about his reaction. After observing his surroundings and acknowledging Ash with a bow of his head, Sceptile went back to chewing on his stick. Ash chuckled, "_Some things just stay the same._"

Ash released Krokorok after, who was happy to see the trainer who gave him his sunglasses and confidence. Then came Noivern, and then it was Infernape.

Charizard was last, and Ash was worried that he would incinerate him. He was, however, proven wrong: he lightly singed him. Grinning, Ash noted that Charizard's control had really developed while he was gone.

With all his Pokemon in front of him, Ash felt… a little more like himself. He was confident that his Pokemon could handle themselves, but he still wasn't clear on whether he would be able to battle properly. He needed a place to safely battle a little, and there was only one person nearby him who could do that. He was Ash's longest traveling companion and the big brother that Ash had never had.

Ash collected all but Charizard and Pikachu into their PokeBalls.

"Charizard, let's go to Pewter city."

It was time to see Brock.

Half an hour later, the sun had started to set, and Ash had arrived in Viridian city. It was nostalgic since this was the first gym he had faced when he started his journey.

He passed the sliding doors and was exposed to the large rock field, and a Brock casually sitting on a lawn chair.

"Hi Ash, how are you doing? I've been waiting for you."

"Wait, how'd you know?"

"Gary told me that he had given you a letter that might get you to start a journey. As for why you're here, let's just say I know you pretty well Ash." Brock smiled, and Ash realized how thankful he was to know him.

"Brock, I need your help. I need to know if I can battle."

Brock nodded. "That's why I met you out here. We can talk about how your two years have gone later." He took a spot on the opposite side of the field.

"Call out your Pikachu, we'll do it like the old times: your Pikachu versus one of my Onix. It'll be a one-on-one battle."

Pikachu hopped to, and Brock released one of his Onix, that he kept for when Steelix was too tired to battle or if he had to hold back a bit.

"Alright Ash, let's get this started! Onix, rock throw!"

"Pikachu dodge!"

Onix slammed his tail into the ground, causing rocks to shoot up towards the Pikachu. Per Ash's command, Pikachu attempted dodging. What Ash failed to realize was that his Pikachu had not battled for two years, and had thus atrophied a bit. He cursed as he realized that this may have been why Brock called on him to use his Pikachu instead of his Charizard, who was training at Charicific Valley. Pikachu was buffeted by the last two rocks and was now an open target.

"Onix, stone edge into Iron tail!"

Pikachu was hit by more rocks and then impacted by the full force of the largest non-mega terrestrial Pokemon.

It was true that Brock was never a top-tier trainer, but he was stronger than people gave him credit for. Ash realized, however, that he didn't know what Brock had been doing the past two years.

Pushing the momentary melancholy out of his mind, Ash attempted to comprehend his situation. Pikachu had taken two full-force hits and wouldn't be able to take another. Ash struggled to think of what he could do, and he found some passable plans, but he couldn't call anything out. It was the same as two years ago: Ash couldn't battle.

Brock ceased his attacking and confronted him. "Ash, what are you doing? Pikachu's in the field getting battered, and you're freezing up."

Ash still remained frozen. Brock took a deep breath and continued. He might regret doing this later, but Ash had to at least get started.

"Oak, and Delia both wanted you to become a Pokemon Master, and now you're failing them. You're failing your pokemon, your mother, the person who taught you about Pokemon, and now you're betraying yourself, too. What Pokemon Master's afraid of battling? Don't you want to become a Pokemon Master?"

Something clicked in Ash: just earlier today he was determined to become a Pokemon Master, and a few hours later he was chickening out of a battle.

"Come on, did those two years only teach you how to run away?"

"God damn it!" Ash was tired of running away: he'd spent two years running away from his problems. Maybe now was the time to stop.

"Pikachu, full force Volt Tackle and Quick Attack into Iron Tail!"

Two years ago, Ash had been at the forefront of Pokemon battling, despite not holding a champion's position (barring that at Orange Island) because he had founded combination attacks while messing around with his Pokemon. He had tested moves and found that some synergized well together, while others wouldn't. For example, he found a Water Pulse followed by a Flamethrower was a bad idea and would curtail the effectiveness of the flamethrower (presumably as water leftover in the Pokemon's release area would absorb excess heat due to its high specific heat). However, an iron tail would be amplified by a volt tackle, since it would build greater momentum and the built-up charge from the volt tackle would be distributed more easily to the opponent as the iron-lookalike that formed on the tail conducted better.

Ash realized that his two years in university weren't useless: he understood the reasons behind why combination moves worked better or worse and could manipulate physical conditions in ways most trainers simply didn't know weren't coincidences.

Following up on new (although unethical) research, Ash had found out that Ground-type pokemon were actually susceptible to damage from electric attacks; however, their body was composed of highly nonconductive material, which prevented high amounts of current from being generated. If ground pokemon were truly unaffected by electric attacks, they wouldn't suffer micro-stuttering caused by the high voltages delivered, it was merely that the current was too low to measurably affect them. This ultimately caused the stopping of the industrial practice of using ground pokemon to ground electric flow.

This meant that electric pokemon simply needed huge amounts of electricity, which would explain the anecdotal tales of a Zapdos damaging ground pokemon with electricity; something that was previously thought of as mere exaggeration. Pikachu, while unassuming, had taken on multiple legendaries before.

Pikachu didn't know all of this, but he trusted Ash implicitly and impacted the attack to the best of his ability. Brock was surprised when he realized his Onix, a ground pokemon, was being lightly shocked in addition to being battered away. He had thought that the resistance his pokemon had to the attacks would allow him to catch Pikachu in a bind.

"Onix slam!" Brock realized his plan was foiled and attempted to quickly end the battle. After all, Pikachu was extremely battered.

But Ash was relentless; multiple attacks were flowing into his head, and Ash wanted to use all of them.

"Pikachu blind him with Thundershock, then use Agility into a Double-Edge!"

Brock realized that there was no way his slow, gargantuan pokemon could dodge the combination. He had to stall Pikachu, and then reduce his mobility with a sandstorm. "Onix, Dragon Breath to keep him away! Use a sandstorm right after!"

"Pikachu, Electro Ball into his mouth!"

Onix's were a hardy pokemon, but his insides were still softer than his outside. Pikachu had launched his attack faster than he could, and Onix paid the price. Convulsing for a second bought Pikachu enough time to land his attack, and the powerful blow knocked out the giant.

Right after the battle ended, Ash was panting on the floor with his Pikachu next to him; the exertion had gotten to them both.

"Good job Pikachu," Ash praised as he rubbed Pikachu's head.

"Chaaa…"

Brock walked up to the seated pair after recalling Onix, smiling wholesomely. It wasn't the same as before, but at least Ash was battling again. Maybe he should've called out his Steelix, instead; Ash was still strong.

"So, how does it feel to be battling again?"

Ash smiled gratefully at Brock. "It feels great." He stood up now, his height coming short of Brock's tall stature. "So, how have these last two years treated you?"

Brock laughed. "Great, I'm just about to get assigned a Pokemon Center for residency, since I just completed my studies."

"Wow, that's great! Where are you hoping to go?" Ash was happy his friend had been progressing with his life. He knew that while Brock had enjoyed Breeding, being a Pokemon Doctor had been his real calling.

"Well…" Brock scratched his head. "I was hoping for an assignment on Hoenn's Battle Frontier, there are loads of battles so I'll get lots of experience, and…" Brock started running his hand over the back of his head, and Ash could swear he was blushing. "I've been getting pretty close to Lucy. We've been calling each other a lot and meeting up whenever either of us was traveling. I asked for the assignment to that Pokemon Center since my grades and reports were pretty good; so, if I do get assigned there I'm planning to ask Lucy if she'll go out with me."

Ash's face was contorted between a jaw drop and a full-on grin. "Lucy? Pike Queen Lucy? The same one that everyone thinks is super rude?"

"Hey, she's not really rude… just kind of passionate. And she's really nice to me."

Ash just started laughing. After a moment, Brock joined him. It felt as if they were traveling together again.

Wiping a tear off his eye, Ash continued, "I was going to ask you to travel with me somewhere, but I'm happy for you Brock."

Brock smiled but then sighed. It was time to talk about Ash's journey. "Thanks, Ash. About your journey, though, I've been looking into it since Gary told me about you today."

Ash nodded and beckoned for Brock to continue.

"So, I contacted a few of my gym leader friends in other regions, and they told me that Sinnoh's regional tournament's starting in a few weeks. Although your badges have expired, since you've already gone through the region you should be able to breeze through it fairly quickly, especially if you use Charizard to fly from time-to-time. I think a tournament would be good for you since it'll tell you where you stand. That, and I don't think you should stay in Kanto for a while. You're too well-known here."

Ash had to admit, Brock's words made sense.

"I called in a few favors with some guys I know at the league and got you a plane ticket since time is of the essence. The plane leaves in 3 hours, Ash."

The prospect that Brock had left his studies so fast to help Ash, and even booked him a ticket, made Ash realize just how great of a friend Brock was to him.

"Thanks, Brock, I don't even -"

Ash was interrupted by the entrance to the gym shattering.

Drew, May, and Misty entered the gym, and Misty called out to Ash.

"Ash, you've got five seconds to explain why you're here gallivanting with Brock and not by Gary's side. When Delia passed away, Gary was by your side throughout the whole affair. And now you're here just… smiling and chatting with Brock? You know what, I'm not even giving you five seconds. Come with us now Ketchum, and you too Harrison!"

Ash hesitantly stepped forward and put an unsure smile on his face. Misty was impulsive, and as an adult, her anger was no joke. Pikachu, despite just finishing a battle, entered a crouched battle stance again. He would have to face Misty, but she was acting far more aggressive towards Ash than he had ever seen before, which was something he couldn't accept.

"Hi, Misty, May, Drew… I actually spoke with Gary already, and uh… he said that there was something he wanted me to do, and he doesn't want to see me, so I'm going to Sinnoh to -"

"God damn it, Ash! His grandfather just died! This is not the time for you to be playing catch up on Pokemon in Sinnoh, be there for him! First, you run off somewhere away from all of us and left all of us alone to deal with Delia's death and the aftermath, and now you run away from Gary in his moment of need? _What kind of a fucking friend are you?_"

Misty was normally a loud person, but now, Ash could feel the heat on his face. He actually felt Misty's shouting resonating within himself, and he started clamming up. Thankfully, Brock attempted to interject placatingly.

"Now, Misty, I understand you care for Gary and are upset by Oak leaving us. I know that he trained you and gave you your first pokemon as well, but there's no need to get angry at Ash. I talked with Gary about this earlier, come into my office, I'll brew some tea, and I'll tell you everything. Just let Ash leave now since he's got a boat to catch in a few hours."

'Wait, I'm not leaving on a boat though…' Ash thought.

Misty was still irate, but she seemed willing to listen to Brock. May, however, was not.

"Ash, you've changed. Earlier, friends were your biggest concern, and here you are running away from Gary, your oldest one. Let's not pretend on what it is, you're running away Ash. This attitude of yours has poisoned Max as well, and he's spent the last two years depressed that his idol's run away. I'm not going to let you run away, for your sake and all of ours. Drew, grab him and let's go."

Ash, at this point, was open to visiting Gary. It wasn't like he didn't want to: he did. It was just that Gary was in pain, and didn't want to relieve his memories. Furthermore, Ash thought the best thing he could do for Gary was honor Oak's wishes and achieve his goals, which he needed to work on immediately to achieve. But still, visiting him and consoling him couldn't be too bad, right?

Brock, however, intercepted Drew. Drew was a tall, toned, and overall good-looking male, but Brock was even taller.

"The Sinnoh regional tournament's in a few weeks and Ash's badges have expired, I'm already unsure if Ash has enough time to get them all again. He doesn't have a day or two to spare, and if he goes back to Pallet town, he might not leave again. He's just worked himself up to leave, I can't have you guys risking taking that motivation away. You're all saying he's changed, but I think if we want Ash to go back to how he was, adventuring is crucial."

Brock had a calming effect on people, and May and Misty may have been convinced to at least calm down were it not for Drew acting up next. To put it simply, he'd been pining after May for a long time, and after she called him to go with her to Pallet town, he'd finally thought she'd started reciprocating her advances. His ego was unable to deal with May looking up to another man, who was currently blocking him off. To put it simply, right now Drew looked bad _in front of May_.

"That doesn't matter. His journeying's not more important than being there for his friend. Step aside, Brock."

He attempted to push Brock out the way, but the former Gym Leader was like a rock: he wouldn't move. Frustrated with his coordinator-bolstered ego bruised, Drew took a swing at Brock.

Brock had experience treating fighting-types, and the flailing around they would do while going under an anesthetic was far worse than the punch of a glorified pretty boy. Brock was normally a calm person, but now this _outsider_ had gone so far as to swing at him to get at Ash. He had also noticed the eyes he was giving May a few years ago, and finally, his big-brother instinct kicked in. Brock swung back and knocked Drew clean off his feet; unlike Drew, Brock's muscles were trained to transport heavy pokemon. He realized his mistake when Drew crumpled at his feet, perhaps if he had simply taken the blow May and Misty would've admonished him, but now the altercation between the two parties had just turned violent, and he could see the two women drawing reaching for their belts.

As quick as he could, Brock released all the Pokemon he was carrying.

"All of you, rock slide now! I want a wall of rocks blocking them off from us! Steelix, press against it to make sure it doesn't collapse."

The gym was partitioned into two halves, and Steelix almost immediately felt the brunt of water pushing on the rock wall. Brock noticed him struggling to keep up the wall, and instructed him to Mega Evolve, increasing his size and strength.

Brock, however, knew that he wouldn't be able to hold off Misty and May. May was just a coordinator, but Misty was a bonafide Gym Leader who held a type advantage against all of his Pokemon. He grabbed Ash by his shoulders and shook him intensely to get him out of his stupor.

"Ash, you need to go, now. Misty may use her authority as a gym leader to try and crack down on boats leaving for Sinnoh, but since you're on a plane you should pass through the cracks if I stall her long enough. Once you're in Sinnoh proper, she hopefully won't be able to do anything to you, just quickly find a gym leader or other Pokemon League official you know from there."

Ash, however, couldn't move. His friends were actually fighting over him.

"Brock, it's okay, I'll just -"

"No! Ash, if you go there, you might never go back out and journey. Go now Ash and don't return for a while, I promise that this will all resolve itself: I just want to see my friend back, and you'll get that way through battling and adventuring."

Ash still didn't budge.

"Ash, come on, do I have to remind you of Oak and your mom's aspirations? Go -"

The wall burst a hole, and high-pressure water started pouring out the leak. Brock turned to the wall and asked his Golem to seal it up.

"Ash, I'll stall them here for now. Take the back exit; if you want to go, you have to go now."

Ash gulped and remembered that his mother wanted him to be a Pokemon Master, and so did Oak. Also, Oak's goal needed achieving, and Brock wanted his friend back. Damnit, he _had_ to go, even if it meant being a bad friend to Gary and betraying Misty and May's trust.

Trying to hold back sobs, Ash recalled Pikachu and ran out the back door, trying to ignore the shouting match between May and Misty and Brock. Once outside, he released and mounted Charizard.

"Charizard, we need to go to the airport. As fast as you can."

Charizard could hear the sounds of a battle starting right next to him, so he quickly abandoned any notion he had of acting up and launched himself into the air.

While Charizard was flying, Ash was ruminating on what he should think about Misty and May's actions towards him and Brock. He found, however, that he was too shocked to actually decide anything and his mind was occupied with arguments with himself, and no small amount of self-pity and sadness. Charizard rode hard and flew for two hours straight to the airport. After dropping Ash off at the entrance, he was recalled and took his well-deserved rest.

Observing the police officers stationed at the airport, Ash lowered his head and walked slowly to the counter. There, he asked for the planes taking off in an hour's time for Sinnoh. Thankfully, there was only one, and Ash was asked for the ticket. After he showed his trainer ID the person at the desk stopped asking questions and handed him his boarding pass, telling him to run for the gate. Brock, had done his work, and for it, Ash ran like hell.

Along the way, Ash realized just how many people were affected by his desire to be a Pokemon Master. Now, there was one more added to the toll: Brock. Ash _had_ to become a Pokemon Master, there was no more room for uncertainty: he was going to Sinnoh.

Furthermore, his mother was dead, Gary was grieving and didn't want to see him for a while, Brock may have been arrested, and Oak was dead. Misty would not want to see him again and may even try to stop his progression on his adventure with her authority as a Gym Leader. His reputation as someone who ran away from his friends would also spread within Kanto, and he would find it even more difficult to travel. So, when Ash reached the gate, he didn't hesitate to pass the sliding doors and enter the airplane.

After all, there was nothing left for him here.

**AN: **And that's a wrap. 5300 words: this chapter was really hard to write and took me quite a while too. I apologize for the physics breaking into the chapter, I always planned to include science here and use it as an advantage for Ash, but I have an exam on Friday for it so I may have gone a bit overboard. And yes, the Pokemon world will be a bit different to canon, I hope you enjoy the differences I put in.

The "betrayal" is here, though I tried my best to make it seem at least somewhat reasonable. I didn't want to characterize it as a straight up betrayal either, just Misty and May wanting to prevent Ash from doing something he'll regret later (avoiding Gary) and Brock wanting to protect Ash's dreams and help him get out of his slump. I tried making the characters in-tune with their anime equivalents, just reacting to situations their anime counterparts would never have to. So, while this isn't a straight up betrayal, this is definitely going to have ripple effects down the storyline. I also hope you guys like the effect that it's had on Ash, even though it was only three people that were there to "betray" him.

With this, we've finally finished the "exposition" part of the story, and now we can start with the adventure proper. Now, Ash feels that he _has_ _to_ battle and adventure to become the Pokemon Master, and I think it'll lead to some interesting decisions and actions down the line. For those of you waiting for Cynthia's introduction to the story, you'll see her soon. When I had actually first thought up of the story, I planned for Calem to be there confronting Ash with Serena and Misty, but I just didn't think that Serena would approve of being so aggressive to Ash, especially while he was still grieving. This said, having Cynthia and Serena as pairings each resulted in vastly different storylines. For this specific story, I liked Cynthia's character and it allows me to do stuff (due to her Champion status) that I can't with Serena. I think you'll see what I mean a few more chapters in. For reference, I plan for this book to be around 26 chapters and have two (maybe three) sequels. It's planned (somewhat thoroughly) but it's also tentative, so if one of you guys suggest something really good, I might deviate from the overall storyline a bit by adding onto it.

It's 6 (am) here, and I'm now turning into sleep since I can't remember anything else to add (if I do, I'll update the AN). I'm not planning for the next chapter to be so long, but exams take days out of my time. I'm hoping to post the next chapter by the 19th since my exams end on the 17th.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, thanks for your favorites and follows, and I look forward to your responses! Have a great day (night)!


End file.
